Creased flange



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J. A. GRAY GREASED FLANGE Original Filedy June 11, 1920 Reissues Aug. s, 1929. .UNITED STATES Re.17,397 PATENT OFI-fics.

JAMES A. AefnAY, or sAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AssreNon 'ro AMERCAN CAN 'f COMPANY, or' NEW Yonx, N. Y., A coRroRATIoN or; NEW JERSEY.

CREASED FLANGE.

Original No. 1,636,957, date-d July 26, 1927, Serial No. 388,121, filed J'une 11, 1920. Application for reissue led November 9,

This invention relates to the art of making cans and more particularly to theprovlslon of means eliminating a condition which .1n the past has frequently been found to be the cause of leaks in the double seam securing the can end to the can body.

The invention relates more particularly to cans of the sanitary type wherein the ends are secured in place without solder and by the interfolding' of flanges formed on the bodies and ends and into a 'seam into which is also included a gasket of compound paper or other packing material. Tin cans of commerce are formed from sheet metal cut to suitable sized blanks and secured together along a seam running throughout the length of the can. These edges at the ends are soldered together in c verlappedl relation and when the two overlapping edges are bent to form the flange ithas been found that frequently there'is a slipping or stretching actionI of the soldered joint which forces the overlapping part having the sharper bend down beneath the overlapping part enclosing it in the inverted U- shaped construction it assumes in the finished seam. This condition has not vinfrequently provided-a droop as well as a slight bulge at this point in the double end seam and at times has been suiiicient to prevent catching of the curled flange of the cover behind or within this U-shaped flange of the body with the result that leakage has occurred.

My present invention has for a particular objectk the construction and arrangement of these seam parts in a manner to prevent this relative movement between the overlapping parts included within the seam so that this,

droop will be substantially eliminated and ample opportunity aiorded for the engagement within and behind the dependingdouble flange at the side seam of the curled liange of the can end. My invention contemplates in this respect imparting a preliminary bending or even if desired slightl weakening or scoring along the line `of flange l bend at the end of the body so that the inner klap member may stretch slightly in the Hanging and seaming operation and the outer lap member ma be contracted slightly in the Hanging aetlon and each act to restrain the action of the other to the end that they will extend down in the finished seam in substantial uniformity with the other portions of the body flange. 1

192B. serial No. 318,288.

Anotherimportant object of my inventlon is the improvement of the general double seam construction by providing a condition whereby, when the flange is formed on the can body, it will be of an accurately predetermined area and the bend will always occur at the same point on the body. It has been found in the manufacture of sanitary cans where flanges are bent on the ends of the bodies without' a preliminary creasing or scoring of the metal, as I have done in this invention, that the bend will occur at varying points, in some instances making a long ange and in other instances a short flange. This variation in'lange area or iange length is detrimental to obtaining the best results in finally closing or attaching theK ends to the cans. The flanges of the covers which interlock with the flanges of the bodies are of al most absolutely constant width and area, so that this' portion of the seam does not vary, but there has always been some variance 1n the amount of flange incorporated in the interlocking seam where the bend of the flange has not been preliminarily determined. When, however, the body is creased or scored in accordance with my present invention the line of bend is predetermined and the ianges resulting being of lsubstantially exact uniformity so that both the flanges of the can ends and the flanges of the can bodies to be interfolded are of substantially uniform predetermined dimension and-on this account co-operate in the interlocking of the two to form double seamswhich will be heremetic 'and non-leaking.

. Another important object of my invention is the improvement of the side seam construction of the can body, to the end that tendenc of the seam parts to slip or slide over eac other as an incident to the Hanging will be minimized. -Y The invention particularly relates in this regard to side seams of the combined lock and lap type, wherein' the major portion of the seam is formed by interfoldf` lng or interhooking the edges of thebody blank, and theQ end partsof the seam are formed by merely overlappinjg blank sections, the whole being soldered a er the bodyvis given its final form and the lock portion of the seam tightly compressed. `It will be un der'stood,of course, that in forming the 'lock portion of the seam the edges ofthe blank entering into it are set of from the lap por tions and bent to hook formation. The lock portion of the seam, by reason of this hook construction, is of four thicknesses in section, while the lap portion is, of course, only oftwo thicknesses. The'junction of the lock and lap portions, therefore, requires a reduction of sea-m thickness from four to two layers of tin plate. The ends of the interengaged hook a portions of the blank have in the past terminated together, so that an abrupt drop or compression of the m'etal was required at the junction between the lock and lap seam portions. In commercial manufacture, it has been found that a small cavity is provided at the ends of the hookedparts thus constructed, and it has been found difiicult to H11 such cavity with solder. 7 My invention has for an important objec the arrangement of the hooked ends so as to reduce materially the size of suchv cavity, thereby insuring that the saine is filled with solder in the soldering operation. This feature of invention both minimizes the amount of solder needed in the making of the can and also insures against the slipping of the seam parts in the Hanging operation. Another important object of the invention is the accomplishment of these results without greatly increasing the cost of production of the can or depreciating in any manner its hermetic qualities in other respects.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be a parent as it is betterv understood from the ollowing description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is` a perspective view of a can embodying my present invention showing the cover seamed in position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the body before the Han e is formed and after scoring on the line of inge bend;

Fi 3 is a section enlarged and taken substantlally on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; p

Fig. 4 is a similar section showing 'the flange construction at the side seams after the Han'ge is formed; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 and show.- the arrangement in the finished seam. or the pur ose of illustrating my invention, I have s own on the drawings a. can

in which it is embodied and which comprises a bod 11 formed of a sheet of material bent to cy indrical form and'having its vertical edges interengaged in a side seam formed in part of a central lock portion 12 and the end upped portion 1'3 after the body is formed. The edges of the blank entering into the lockl rtion 12` are preferably of either slightly iferent length or are so positioned that they are slightly out of registration each with its companion. In the forming of the seam, as

will be readily apparent, this arrangement permits of a gradual sloping of the innermost lock seam part with respect to the outermost lock seam part at each junction of the lock and lap seam portions of the seam, and instead of one large cavity two minute ones are provided. In the sweating of the solder into the seam in the soldering operation, these small intersticesor cavities are readily filled with solder. It will be apparent that not only is there a saving of solder in this operation, but that the seam parts are resultantly so arranged as to more fully sustain the strains of bending along their length. In other words, this arrangement better resists the pull upon the inner lap seam part in the Hanging operation.

Score or bend lines are provided near each end and at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the flange as may be seen upon view- \ing Fig. '2. These lines may be produced in the sheet metal of the blank before it is formed into a. can body, or they may be produced after the body forming operation and in or on the cylindrical or otherwise shaped body. These score or bend lines (indicated at 14) may be formed by any suitable mechanism and are preferably of a character which causes deflection or scoring of both overlapping parts at the seam ends. Thereafter theA body is Hanged in the usual manner and it will be found that in this Hanging a sharp bend results about the can on the score line and also that the outer edges of the overlapping parts at the side seam will be arranged l in bending down the Hanges and pressing.-

them in against reacting pressure upon the shoulder of the can end causes the part to assume the relation shown on a large scale in Fig. 5.

The material of the overlapping side seam parts in this action undergoes a. relative' stretching and contraction and remains substantially in horizontal registration to the remainder of the body flange in the finished seam. Thus constructed there is no difiiculty in insuring the engagement of the curled part of the cover Hange behind the downturned body Hange and leakage is thus prevented.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be better understoodfrom the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in they form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A process of making cans wherein the body and end are provided with flanges adapted to be interfolded to form an hermetic seam, which consists in forming a cylindrical body of sheet metal with the edges sel cured together in a side seam, creasing the material across the side seam at the point of flange-bend whereby the inner overlapping `part may stretch in being bent to provide the body-flange, forming a flange on said body, and seaming the end in place on said body.

. 2. A process of making cans wherein the` body and end are provided with flanges adapted to be interfolded to form an hermetic seam, which consists in weakening the material across the seam at the point of flange bend without interrupting the continuity thereof, whereby the overlapping parts may remain in the relation assumed before flanging and after the flange is formed, forming 4. A, can body having a flange adapted to be interfolded with the flange of a can end to form a tight hermetic double seam, the material of the body being preliminarily creased across the side seam and at the junction of the flange and body without interrupting the continuity thereof yto permit the overlappingl parts of the side seam in the flange to have ,a greater capacity of yielding in the Hanging operation.

5. A can body having a longitudinally eX tending side seam and provided with a flange at an end for seaming with the llange of the vcan end, said flange at the side seam being creased transversely and disposed at a. sharp angle withthe body and with the edges of the overlapping parts in registration.

6. Apnocess of forming can bodies for double seamifng, so that the length of the body Y flange and the height of the body..wil1'be substantially uniform, which consists vin weakening the stiffness of the wall of the l can body, without the removal of any of the metal thereof, and before the application of the cover, so as to give to said wall-a predisposition to bend along a horizontal line which is at a distance from the end of the can body substantially equal to the desired outward extent of the body flange.

7 A can body, comprising a metal sheet having its edges joined in a lock and lap seam, with a lock seam portion intermediate lap seam portions, the ends of the members entering into the lock seam portion being out of registration axially of the can and substantially filling `the junction between the full lock seam portion and a full lap seam portion.

JAMES A. GRAY. 

